years.
Many public buildings, like the Museum of Vancouver shown here, were built to celebrate the Centennial and can be identified by the presence of the distinctive maple leaf composed of ten triangles that was the symbol of the Centennial. Canadians were encouraged to travel across the country and to create their own 'Centennial Projects'. I was my parents' 'Centennial Project'!. This year I hope to visit many more of these buildings and see a lot more of Canada. I first visited the Vancouver Museum when I was 12 years old and they had an exhibition called "The Look of Music". It was one of the experiences that, when considered collectively, influenced my desire to study music. A few years later, my first experience playing "real" chamber music was with the son of the man who created the exhibit. This young cellist was also the person who reintroduce me to my future husband. When I revisited the Museum in March of this year, I discovered that the architect George Hamilton had based the design of the building on an Haida woven hat. Most of my first five years were spent living on Haida Gwaii where my father was a bush pilot. I was fortunate to fly with him into logging and mining camps as well as Ninstints and other Haida sites. I am continually thankful for my early exposure to this rich culture.
Last year on Canada Day I was at the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C. with the Ottawa Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys as my youngest son's chaperone. Bill Reid's striking sculpture was the perfect place for an outfit photo featuring my 'made in Canada' Ophelie Hat which really stood out in a sea of white stetsons.
Below are possible vintage outfit choices for today. From back to front: a Diane von Furstenberg print knit dress made by my late mother in the mid-1970s, a cotton blend 'secretary style shirt dress also from the 1970s, and a silk Jasper Conran dress from the early 1980s. I still need to find a 1967 Centennial dress...
Happy Canada Day!
